Mumbai, Mar 24 (PTI): Maharashtra Cyber on Monday recorded the statement of comedian Samay Raina in a case registered over objectionable remarks on his YouTube show, an official said.

Maharashtra Cyber, a cyber and information security division, is probing the case registered against podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and others after he triggered a massive uproar with his crass remarks about parents and sex on Raina’s web show “India’s Got Latent”.

The agency had summoned Raina several times to record his statement in connection with the case, the official said.

He said Raina, who recently returned from abroad, appeared before the probe agency at its headquarters in Mhape and recorded his statement.

The comedian reached the office in the afternoon, recorded his statement for more than five hours, and left the premises at 6.45, the official said.

He said the agency had earlier recorded statements of Ranveer Allahbadia, Ashish Chanchlani, Apoorva Makhija and others.

Raina got into trouble after Allahbadia’s remarks on his now-deleted web show “India’s Got Latent” led to a massive furore in February, both online and offline, with multiple police complaints filed against the two and those involved with the show.

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Penco (Chile) (AP): Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital.

The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.

“All resources are available,” Boric wrote on X.

But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.

“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”

Firefighters were struggling to extinguish the flames, but strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts Sunday with temperatures topping 38 C (100 F).

Residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.

“Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."

Although the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear, one municipality of Concepcion in Biobio reported 253 homes destroyed.

“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.

Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.

“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”